Motlawa

The mouth of Motlawa is Martwa Wisła. The name of the river is of Prussian origin and refers to the second half of the thirteenth century.

Not only tourists but also the residents of Gdansk like to walk along the Motlawa embankment. There you can admire amazing, beautiful views at any time of the year and in any weather. There you can admire different ships, sailboats, kayaks or ordinary boats. You can also rent water transport or just take part in a boat trip along Motlawa.

You can also admire the beautiful, old or modern architecture. Often on Motlawa, you can see different types of birds – swans, ducks, gulls.

Notes on the port in Gdansk can be found back in the distant Middle Ages when Slavic princes reigned at the mouth of the Vistula. The first translations of texts about it can be seen in documents of 1341. It is also known that the first crane over Motlawa was built around 1363.

In 1442-1444 new crane gates were built. The residents of Gdansk accused everyone of expenses, even orphans and sailors. The crane is one of the main tourist attractions in Gdansk. Once it served as a reload of the heaviest goods. It was specially built in this place, because under this bridge there always was the most dense movement of ships. Currently, it is one of the largest and oldest cranes in Europe.

The crane has become one of the largest water gates of the Main City. It has two semicircular towers connected by a gate arch. Towers are thirty meters. Each tower has five floors, they have cellars, rooms designed for shelling, and on the highest floors, there are loopholes. Due to this, the crane could repel the attack. It held control of the main city port. In 1448 a fence was placed in the direction of the moat of the Teutonic Knights. It served as a guard on the catchline.

The crane was dragged through several times because of fire, for example in the first half of the fourteenth century, therefore, through the mayor’s exhortation, they raised a crane gate made of solid stone, which was more resistant.

The last crane master died in 1858. They stopped building sailboats, ships appeared on Motlawa, so it was no longer required to install masts. Since these times, a crane has become a monument of technology.

Now there is a crane, open for tourists and you can visit it with pleasure. From Tuesday to Friday it is open from 10 am to 3 pm; however, from Saturday to Sunday it is open from 10 am to 4 pm. On Wednesday, tickets are free for the whole day. Despite this, normal days are not expensive. Their cost is estimated at 10 PLN (regular ticket) to 25 PLN (group). There is still the opportunity to rent a guardian or guide for the group. You can also ask for a guide in English or Russian. The average time of the tour is one hour.